PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania: Jamaica College’s (JC) Balvin Israel secured another significant title by winning the Penn Relays long jump championship on the second day of the world’s oldest and largest annual track and field carnival on Friday.
Competing for the first time at Franklin Field, Israel claimed the 15th title for Jamaican high school boys in the third round, covering 7.24m (-0.2m/s), just below his lifetime best of 7.45m. While only two other competitors surpassed the seven-meter mark, none posed a challenge to Israel’s winning jump.
Jamaica celebrated a one-two finish as Nathan Wade of Kingston College secured second place with an effort of 7.09m (-0.7m/s) achieved in the fourth round. Antoine McNair Jr joined the Jamaican pair on the podium, taking third place with a jump of 7.09m (0.2m/s).
Ricoy Hunter of St Elizabeth Technical High School finished sixth with an effort of 6.78m, Renaldinho Medwinter was 10th with 6.52m while Edward Sterling of Wolmer’s finished 12th with 6.42m.
Israel had previously won the event at the Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships in Kingston in March.
In addition to Israel’s victory, JC claimed two other individual event titles on the day. Shaiquan Dunn won the High School Boys’ Shot-Put Championship, while Chavez Penn took the High School Boys’ Triple Jump Championship.
Penn’s winning triple jump measured 15.38m (-0.9m/s), comfortably ahead of Wolmers Boys’ Nicardo Grey-Clarke (14.52m) and Cornwall College’s O’brien Bowen (14.49m).
Dunn continued his unbeaten run in the shot put this season with a throw of 20.73m, defeating Joshua Huisman (19.72m) of St Rose in New Jersey and Michael Lunsford (18.98m) of Cable Midland High School in West Virginia. Devonte Edwards of Munro College took fourth place with a throw of 18.52m.
